Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Happy spring break to me! Today, Bri and I made Swedish Cinnamon Buns! It took a few hours, but only baked for like 10 minutes or so! The recipe (found at this fun book: "Handmade Living by Lotta Jansdotter) supplied me with a surplus of buns, so I was able to share them with lots of people, which is always fun to do. Here are a some pics of the process:

Knead, knead, knead!

Top with a beaten egg

Sprinkle with a little sugar!

Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients

For the Dough
1 cup warm milk (105° to 115°F)
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cardamom
4 cups (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon neutral-tasting oil

For the Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the Icing
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Pour warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (don’t attach bowl to mixer just yet) and sprinkle with yeast. Add a pinch of the sugar. Stir to dissolve. Let stand in a warm spot until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, egg, melted butter, salt, and cardamom. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add flour 1 cup at a time, stirring between additions, to form a smooth dough. Connect bowl to mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to speed 2 (no higher!) and knead for about 8 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Pour the teaspoon of oil onto dough and turn to coat lightly but completely. Place a kitchen towel over the bowl and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled, an hour or more.

2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape each into a rectangle with your hands. Roll out the first piece into a 12-inch by 12-inch by 1/2-inch-thick square. Spread half the butter evenly over surface. Sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over butter. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a log shape. Slice log crosswise into 12 slices. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or in a muffin pan with paper liners, with one of the cut sides facing up. Repeat with the second square of dough and remaining butter and cinnamon sugar. Cover rolls with kitchen towels and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled, an hour or more.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 12 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Drizzle a small amount of glaze over each roll. (You may have leftover glaze.) Serve rolls warm. Extras can be reheated one at a time in the microwave for 10 seconds.